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FirefoxWeb browser · Mozilla

CVE-2012-0456

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-03-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 10.0 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The SVG Filters implementation in Mozilla Firefox before 3.6.28 and 4.x through 10.0, Firefox ESR 10.x before 10.0.3, Thunderbird before 3.1.20 and 5.0 through 10.0, Thunderbird ESR 10.x before 10.0.3, and SeaMonkey before 2.8 might allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from process memory via vectors that trigger an out-of-bounds read.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Mozilla Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the SVG Filters implementation. Attackers can craft malicious SVG content that triggers the improper memory access, potentially exposing sensitive process memory contents to remote attackers.

MitigationUpdate affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 3.6.28+, Firefox ESR 10.0.3+, Thunderbird 3.1.20+, Thunderbird ESR 10.0.3+, or SeaMonkey 2.8+. Alternatively, disable SVG rendering or restrict JavaScript execution in untrusted content.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
FirefoxWeb browser
Affected:<= 3.6.27>= 4.0, <= 10.0= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2
ThunderbirdApplication
Affected:>= 1.0, <= 3.1.19> 5.0, <= 10.0
Thunderbird EsrApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2
SeamonkeyApplication
Affected:all versions= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3= 1.0.4= 1.0.5= 1.0.6= 1.0.7= 1.0.8= 1.0.9= 1.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed Mozilla product and version
    On Windows, check Help > About or run: firefox --version, thunderbird --version, or seamonkey --version. On Linux, use the same commands or check /usr/lib/firefox/, /usr/lib/thunderbird/, or /usr/lib/seamonkey/ for version files.
    Affected if The product is Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey and the version falls within: Firefox <= 3.6.27, 4.0-10.0.2; Thunderbird 1.0-3.1.19, 5.0-10.0; Thunderbird ESR 10.0-10.0.2; SeaMonkey any version listed
  2. Confirm SVG filter support is enabled
    In Firefox: type about:config and search for 'svg'. In Thunderbird/SeaMonkey: check Application Settings for SVG rendering options. Ensure the svg.enabled preference is set to true (default).
    Affected if SVG rendering is enabled (default behavior) - the vulnerability exists in the SVG Filters implementation
  3. Determine if the application processes untrusted content
    Check browser/email settings for whether content from untrusted sources is loaded. In Firefox, verify if the security settings allow loading SVG from file:// or http:// sources. In Thunderbird, check if HTML rendering and remote content loading are enabled.
    Affected if The application loads or displays HTML/SVG content from untrusted or remote sources

You are affected if you run any of the listed Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey versions AND have SVG rendering enabled AND process untrusted SVG content.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 10.0
Interim mitigation

Update affected Mozilla products to patched versions: Firefox 3.6.28+, Firefox ESR 10.0.3+, Thunderbird 3.1.20+, Thunderbird ESR 10.0.3+, or SeaMonkey 2.8+. Alternatively, disable SVG rendering or restrict JavaScript execution in untrusted content.

Fix this in Firefox Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,050
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,880.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-0456 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data